The Indy 500- you grow up worshipping this mecca of racing! It's not an oval; it's not a square, but rather a unique 2.5 mile long rectangular track complete with 9 degrees banking in all four turns.Built in 1909, and now owned by Tony George, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has held its infamous 500 mile NASCAR race every Memorial Day (with exceptions during wartime) since 1911. A track built for one lane racing, it gives the drivers and NASCAR racing teams a run for their money by preparing correct fuel amounts, and leaving the driver to battle over position. This in turn leads the way for some spine-tingling and captivating NASCAR racing.
Also home to the Brickyard 400, now called the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a wonderful place to visit if you are a fan of racing! The Allstate 400 at The Brickyard is a 400-mile NASCAR Nextel Cup points race held each August. From 1994 to 2004, the race was known as the Brickyard 400, and was held on the first Saturday in August.In the past twelve years, the winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to win the "Brickyard-title double," the race and the NASCAR championship in the same year, five times, with Jeff Gordon achieving the feat in 1998 and 2001, and Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart doing so in 1999, 2000 and 2005 respectively.
Six of the eight drivers who have to date won the event have been NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champions at some point during their careers, with Ricky Rudd (race winner, 1997) and Kevin Harvick (race winner, 2003) as exceptions. Among those six, only Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott did not capture both in the same year.Past winners of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (Brickyard 400).
1994: Jeff Gordon
1995: Dale Earnhardt
1996: Dale Jarrett
1997: Ricky Rudd
1998: Jeff Gordon
1999: Dale Jarrett
2000: Bobby Labonte
2001: Jeff Gordon
2002: Bill Elliott
2003: Kevin Harvick
2004: Jeff Gordon (161 laps / 402.5 miles due to first-ever implementation of the green-white-checker rule)
2005: Tony Stewart.
.Curry Hayes is the owner of Race Fans Friend, the premier online NASCAR ticket agency. For years racing fans have enjoyed the convenience, security, and affordability of purchasing all their NASCAR tickets through Race Fans Friend.
By: Curry Hayes
